"Nonsense! You would always be hammering your own ball a hundred yards away in a bunker, while I was waiting for my mashie."
The rain had ceased, and a watery sun shone down upon them. There was no wind, and the conditions for golf were almost perfect. The greens had become a trifle fiery during the recent drought, and the morning's rain had stiffened them finely.
Presently they found themselves on the tenth tee.
"You drive first," said Pip.
Elsie began to tee her ball.
"It's the last time you'll have the chance," he continued.
Elsie picked up her ball.
"For that," she remarked, "you shall drive first. I am not going to take any favours from a duffer."
Pip rose from the tee-box on which he was sitting and took her ball from her hand. Then he stooped down and teed it carefully.
"Ladies first," he remarked briefly.